Steelers' TJ Watt Gets Extremely Real About His Defense's Performance In Week 3

The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the New England Patriots by a final score of 21-14 in Week 3 on Sunday in Foxborough. The Steelers offense found the end zone three times, but the biggest story in the win was Pittsburgh's defense. The Steelers forced five New England turnovers, held the Patriots to only 14 points, and sacked Drake Maye five times in the win. It wasn't a perfect performance by any means, but Steelers edge rusher TJ Watt believes it was a step in the right direction. 

The Steelers defense had been horrendous in the first two games of the season to say the least. Although it wasn't incredible on Sunday, it was certainly an improvement. In his postgame press conference, Watt said just that.

"We've had some pretty rough performances the first couple weeks, today was a much better performance, but there's still a lot of room to grow," Watt said.

Watt himself had by far his best game of the 2025 season. After a quiet first two weeks, Watt collected five tackles, two sacks, and a fumble recovery. Watt finally broke his streak of six consecutive games without a sack. His presence was felt throughout the game, not just on the stat sheet, but in the constant pressure he and the Steelers' pass rush applied on Maye. It was the kind of disruptive effort Pittsburgh has been waiting for, and one that seemed to lift the energy of the entire defense.

Sunday's performance from Watt and the Steelers' defense had to feel somewhat encouraging for Steelers fans. After back-to-back weeks of awful performances giving up 31+ points, the Pittsburgh defense appeared to be slightly back to normal. Aside from Watt, other members of the Steelers' defense had big days. Patrick Queen led the team in tackles with 10, including a tackle for loss and two passes defended.

Payton Wilson and Cole Holcomb both split time at middle linebacker, and they both had big impacts. Wilson totaled seven tackles along with a fumble recovery, and Holcomb made six tackles. Brandin Echols had his break-out game as a Steeler with six tackles, one interception, and a tackle for loss on fourth down to end the Patriots' comeback attempt in the final minute.

Cameron Heyward compiled six tackles and sack, along with a huge tipped pass that led to Echols' interception at the end of the first half. In his return to New England, Jabrill Peppers made six tackles and recovered a fumble.

Yes, things looked better against New England, but this defense is far from the historic unit that they expected to be heading into the season. The Steelers were built to dominate games with their front seven and improved secondary, yet lapses in discipline and missed assignments have kept them from reaching that level of dominance. The potential is obvious, but consistency has been missing.

Steelers Have To Do Better On Third Down

One of the biggest issues still haunting the Steelers' defense has been their inability to get off the field on 3rd down. New England went six for 13 on third down, and an even more frustrating four of five on fourth down. Watt said the unit has to work together in order to stop allowing so many conversions. 

"I think it's just a matter of working together," Watt said. "Rush and coverage has to work together, and we have to get home."

Watt and the Steelers defensive line got home five times against the Patriots, which is a season-high. Give props to the secondary for giving the guys up front enough time to get to Maye. The group showed flashes of how dangerous they can be when everything clicks, but now the question becomes whether they can sustain that level of play against consistently throughout the rest of the season. 

Fans will need to see much of the same from Watt and company for the rest of the season in order for this defense to become the elite group that we know they're capable of becoming.

What did you think of the Steelers' defense on Sunday? Did it look better, or did the five takeaways overlook other issues? Let us know in the comments below!

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